Nirjala Ekadashi 2019: Here’s why fasting on Nirjala Ekadashi is as good as observing vrat on 24 Ekadashis

Nirjala Ekadashi 2019: Here’s why fasting on Nirjala Ekadashi is as good as observing vrat on 24 Ekadashis

Sonali PimputkarUpdated: Wednesday, June 12, 2019, 06:11 PM IST
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Ekadashi is the eleventh lunar day, which occurs twice in a lunar month – on the bright and dark fortnight. It is also called as ‘Hari Vasara’ meaning ‘the day of Sri Hari’ as it is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Hindus and Jains consider the day as spiritual and observe fast. Among all the 24 Ekadashis, Nirjala Ekadashi is considered the most significant one. ‘Nirjala’ means ‘without water’. Hence, those fasting on the day abstain from consuming food and water. Nirjala Ekadashi falls during Shukla Paksha of Jyeshtha month which coincides in the month of May or June in the Gregorian calendar. The day falls either on the same day or a day just after Ganga Dussehra. In 2019, Nirjala Ekadashi falls on June 13.

Benefits of Nirjala Vrat

Fasting on Nirjala Ekadashi is believed to give equal benefits one gets from observing fasts on all the 24 Ekadashis that falls in an entire year.

Legend

Nirjala Ekadashi is also known as Pandava Nirjala Ekadashi or Pandava Bhima Ekadashi. These names are derived from Bhima, the second born of the Pandavas. Bhima is considered the strongest among the five Pandavas from Mahabharata. He was known for his giant appetite. It was also believed that he used to consume half of the total food eaten by the brothers. According to the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Bhima wanted to observe all the Ekadashi fasts, but could not since he did not have control over his hunger. All his brothers and Draupadi would observe the fast and this made him upset over his weak determination. He approached Sage Vyasa for help. The sage advised him to observe fast on Nirjala Ekadashi which comes once a year that will help him to attain the virtue of all the 24 Ekadahis. Since then Nirjala Ekadashi is also known as Pandava Nirjala Ekadashi or Pandava Bhima Ekadashi.

Tithi

Nirjala Ekadashi Vrat: June 13, 2019

Ekadashi tithi begins: 6:27 pm on June 12, 2019

Ekadashi tithi ends: 4:49 PM on June 13, 2019

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